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The mechanical and corrosion characteristics of the friction stir welds (FSW) are defined by the heat generated throughout the process. The backing plate material is crucial for effective temperature control during the FSW process. The detailed examination comprehends how the backing plate material influences the mechanical and corrosion characteristics of AA6061 FSW joints. In this investigation, FSW process variables such as backing plate, the rotation speed of the tool, and traverse speed were varied to obtain a suitable combination of parameters to achieve high corrosion resistance of joints along with satisfactory mechanical properties. An exfoliation corrosion test is carried out to determine the welds' corrosion resistance. An electrical conductivity test was performed to identify the relationship between hardness and electrical conductivity. The results demonstrated that the lowest corrosion rate, 0.8174 mm per year (mm/year), was achieved by a weld produced using an aluminum backing plate at 1200 rpm and 60 mm/min. The weld with the composite backing plate at 1200 rpm, 30 mm/min exhibits the highest corrosion rate of 1.559 mm/year. The maximum ultimate tensile strength (UTS) is found in joints with an aluminum backing plate. Visual observations indicate that post-weld machining improves the corrosion resistance of FSW samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recently developed AA7075 was subjected to solid solution, high temperature laser surface treatment and artificial aging. The microstructure evolution and precipitation behavior were examined, and their effects on corrosion behavior and corrosion cracking were analyzed. The results show that the coarse η phase disappears and many smaller η phases are formed after high temperature laser surface treatment. Most of the phases dissolved into Al matrix during solution, and fine η phases precipitated in laser treatment. The η′ phases were appeared in the high temperature laser surface treatment samples. It was concluded that reasonable laser scanning power owned the best corrosion resistance, lower intergranular corrosion tendency. Both lower laser scan power and higher scan power samples were susceptible to the intergranular corrosion, and the intergranular cracking was observed. In contrary, the reasonable sample which the laser power is 1000 W showed much better corrosion resistance due to the coarsening and separation of grain boundary precipitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tribological impact of the steel alloy employed as the work roll material during hot rolling on the surface quality and corrosion behavior of Al-Mn alloys was explored. AISI 52100, AISI D2 and AISI 440C steel work rolls with a surface roughness (Ra) of 0.1 µm were used to hot roll Al-Mn alloy specimens under similar conditions using a rolling tribo-simulator. Corrosion tests were then performed on the rolled Al-Mn specimens by immersing them in a 0.5 wt.% NaCl solution. Surface examination of the Al-Mn specimens after rolling revealed dark MgO-rich islands covering the surfaces of the AISI D2 and AISI 440C-rolled Al-Mn surfaces. These features were associated with the carbides observed protruding from the AISI D2 and AISI 440C steel surfaces. Subsequent corrosion tests revealed that these MgO-rich islands possessed a distinct influence on the corrosion behavior of the rolled Al-Mn surfaces. The frequency of occurrence and depth of the MgO-rich islands, which were dependent on the work roll material employed, influenced the initial and subsequent corrosion morphology detected on the Al-Mn surfaces. The preferential dissolution of the MgO-rich islands was detected as one of the corrosion mechanisms occurring during the early stages of corrosion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atmospheric corrosion behavior of 7A04 aluminum alloy exposed to a tropical marine environment for 4 years was investigated by weight loss test, morphology observation, and electrochemical impendence spectroscopy (EIS). The results showed that the weight loss of 7A04 alloy in the log-log coordinates can be approximately fitted with two liner segments, in which the slope value of the second segment is significantly lower than that of the first segment. This was mainly attributed to the protectiveness of the corrosion product layer formed on the specimen exposed for 12 and 24 months, which was further confirmed by the EIS results. Corrosion rate presented a significant fluctuation during the exposure test which is due to the deterioration effect caused by chloride ions and time of wetness and the stabilization process of the corrosion product layer. Intergranular corrosion occurred on the 7A04 alloy and then transformed into exfoliation corrosion because of the synergetic effect of the hydrogen-assisted crack initiation and the wedge effect-induced matrix delamination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aluminum alloy 2024-T4 specimens were exposed to atmosphere for 7, 12, and 20 years, respectively, to study long-term corrosion in a coastal environment. One-directional corrosion region and cross-directional corrosion region were defined according to corrosion characters. The statistical regularities, surface appearance, corrosion products, and cross-sectional morphology of both regions were investigated. It was found that the minimum remaining thicknesses of each region can be described by a normal distribution and linearly decrease as the exposure time is increased from 7 to 20 years. The corrosion pits, chlorine ions, and interlinked inner pits are promoting exfoliation, and the alloy's corrosion susceptibility along the long transverse direction is strongly location dependent due to the restrictions imposed by the side material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, corrosion behavior of 2B06 aluminum alloy was investigated after exposure to a tropical marine atmosphere for up to 4 years. After 6 months, the specimen showed exfoliation corrosion as well as rapid increase in thickness loss and corrosion rate. Exfoliation corrosion was found to initiate from hydrogen-assisted intergranular cracks and propagate extensively due to the wedge effect of the corrosion products. During the exposure test, corrosion on the groundward surface was considerably more severe than that on the skyward surface, which could be attributed to the different exposure conditions on the two surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mechanical properties, microstructure, exfoliation corrosion (EXCO), and intergranular corrosion (IGC) behaviors of the spray-formed 7075 aluminum alloy after T6, T73, retrogression (R), and re-aging (RRA) treatment, respectively, were studied by using tensile tester, transmission electron microscope, and scanning electron microscope. The results show that the T6 process can increase the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) up to 760 MPa, while it decreases the elongation, the EXCO, and the IGC resistance of the alloy. The T73 process can improve elongation, the EXCO, and the IGC resistance of the alloy. The corrosion resistance of the alloy can also be improved by R and RRA processes with retrogression times increase. The tiny precipitated phases distributed homogeneously in the matrix can increase the UTS. The close-connected discrete grain boundary phases (GBP) and the narrow precipitate free zones (PFZ) will lower the elongation, the EXCO, and the IGC resistance of the alloy. Contrarily, the discrete GBP and wide PFZ can improve the elongation, the EXCO, and the IGC resistance of the alloy. The EXCO and the IGC behaviors for the spray-formed 7075 alloy after different aging treatments have been established according to the standards of ASTM G34-2001 (2007) and ASTM G110-1992 (2009). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mechanical properties and exfoliation corrosion behavior in Al-Cu-Mg alloy with various pre-strain percents were characterized in this study by means of hardness measurement, optical microscope, transmission electron microscope (TEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), and electrochemical technique. The hardness of naturally aged alloy was significantly enhanced with increasing the pre-strain percents. The immersion tests and polarization measurements revealed that the pre-straining processing before natural aging reduced the resistance of the alloy to exfoliation corrosion (EXCO), which was mainly attributed to the increase of dislocations density and grain aspect ratio. The decrease of residual tensile stress may only play a minor role in the EXCO resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exfoliation corrosion (EXCO) behavior of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu-Cr alloy after severe cold rolling was investigated by optical microscope, transmission electron microscope, and electrochemical technique. The results show that the EXCO resistance decreased with increasing cold rolling reduction because of the grain boundaries which were decorated with the continuously distributed particles . After the solution treatment, the samples with different reductions retained the fibrous grains, and the elongated grains accelerated the growth of the corrosion cracks according to crack propagation analysis. Furthermore, the increase of deformation enhanced the degree of recrystallization, while the number of corrosion cells increased greatly when in the electrolyte, which tended to reduce the resistance to EXCO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]